The family of Pablo Velázquez (39) will present a criminal complaint for the prosecution to investigate possible responsibility of the company Reyla in the death of the sailor, who fell into the waters of the port of Montevideo on Sunday, June 19, whose body appeared this Monday, floating. Fifteen days have passed since Velázquez slipped trying to get on one of the boats, in the port’s tugboat area.
It was one o’clock in the morning on Sunday the 19th. “When he goes up, he slips and falls. There was no one (in the vicinity),” he told The Observer the family’s lawyer, Juan Bordoli, after the Prefecture showed him the pictures that recorded the fall. These facts are already being investigated by the prosecutor of Flagrancia Rodrigo Morosoli, despite the fact that The family’s complaint will be filed between this Tuesday and Wednesday because it is still collecting information and testimoniesadvanced the professional.
It was the ship VB Gladiador, which was moored in the port without activity at the time, Reyla said in a statement. “Already being out of his working hours (…) in a completely accidental appearance actionwhich was not perceived by the serene”.
Morosoli took the case after a complaint was filed on June 20 at a police station. The family does not know who did it, but they know that several colleagues carried out this procedure before the police and the Prefecture, due to the absence of their partner, who worked at the port 21 years ago, and six years ago, for Reyla, he informed The Observer Mauro Rivero, leader of the merchant sector of the National Union of Sea and Allied Workers (Suntma). However, from the salary receipts it appears that Velázquez had been working at the company since October 2020, he knew The Observer.
“It was horrible”
“The whole family is devastated for this fact and for how it happened. Beyond the accident all these days of anguish… it was horrible”Bordoli limited himself to saying. They are four children (three of them minors), two sisters and the mother.
Bordoli added that the relatives have not even recovered the personal belongings of Velázquez, who was hired as a deck attendant.
The video and the complaint
The Prefecture collected testimonies at the port, conducted interrogations and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security carried out an inspection of the ships and the company, said Bordoli, who assured that –according to the images of the moment– “the measures for the entry and exit of ships were not being complied with.” The lawyer added that there were also no security elements such as a ladder with a net or control over who enters and leaves the ships. “If it had existed, it wouldn’t have taken six days (to investigate),” he said.
The events unfolded as follows: the lack of news from Velázquez was a unknown that brought concern. On Monday, June 20, Velázquez’s sister began trying to communicate with him, without success. On Tuesday, she called the company and had no answer. She toured several hospitals in Montevideo to find out if there were port workers who had been admitted. Any. The following Wednesday he contacted the union where his brother was a member. There the investigations began and both parties began to demand that Reyla Check the video surveillance cameras.
It was Thursday the 23rd when that task began, which was meticulous. On Friday the 24th, late in the afternoon, the company found the moment in which the person fell. That same day the search began, which would end four days later, without success.. Regarding the company’s response, Bordoli said: “They had no knowledge of anything, (they said) that (Velázquez) had normally retired from work and that they had called him to return to work.”
Family lawyer: “We understand that if these measures had been followed, Pablo’s accident could have been avoided.”
In a statement, Reyla then indicated that “Pablo fulfilled his workday on Saturday the 18th, finishing his shift on Sunday the 19th at 00:00 and leaving his workplace normally. On Sunday the 19th in the afternoon and on Tuesday the 21st, the person in charge of Port Operations called Pablo’s cell phone to ask if he could carry out tasks on those days, without receiving a response, a fact that did not generate surprise or alarm, since it is usual in the field between eventual sailors.
Bordoli explained that “the objective of the family is to clarify what happened, if there were measures that were not taken and that could prevent the accident (…) The case merits the prosecution’s investigation. From the testimonies collected we understand that they would not have been fulfilled the rules of current legislation and We understand that if these measures had been followed, Pablo’s accident could have been avoided.”.
port strike
Suntma summoned a general stoppage of activities for this Tuesday, July 5. The union calls for compliance with the safety regulations and with the breaks, he said in a statement. Also request a reduction of the workload (The workers work 360 hours per month, despite the fact that the maximum is 240, according to the union). Also ask for a life insurance policy for all crew members, regardless of category.
The unionized workers, from Reyla vessels, will stop from 7:00 p.m. this Monday, for 24 hours. Those of the rest of the boats will do so this Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Likewise, the Port Maritime Coordinator will mobilize this Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in claim for job security “that includes the minimum essential needs so that no worker has to lose their life in their workplace,” it says in another statement. The coordinator demands that “pertinent measures be taken” and that national and international port security standards be complied with.
“The lives of the workers cannot be left to the negligence of those who have to offer the guarantees so that their tasks can be carried out without risk,” he contemplates.
